iKissed a Dork
by Magarooski1124
Summary: My version of what happens right after iOMG.
1. Chapter 1

Samantha Puckett was officially freaking out. What in the world had possessed her to…jump him like that? She had just grabbed him by the arms…and oh boy, did the dork have some nice ones…and laid one on him! A gigantic, mind-blowing, blow your socks off type of one to be exact.

Oh chiz, oh chiz, oh chiz! Now he was looking at her like she had grown two heads and tail. Now what? What in the world was she suppose to say after that?

"Sorry."

Ugh, really? That's all she could come up with? Smooth, Sam...real smooth.

"It's cool."

She rocked back and forth on her heels as she tried to figure out what happens next. He was still looking at her, as if he was trying to dissect her like one of those dead frogs they worked on in biology class last month. Thankfully, Freddie had been her lab partner so she didn't have to work much. She had spent most of the time playing with the dead frog's tongue and Freddie would simply slap her hand in annoyance without looking up from his work. It was kind of cute.

And why in the world was she thinking about that? She needed to think about how to get out of this without looking like an idiot.

She let out a bored sigh. "Well, then…I'm going to go eat some fried chicken." She walked by him and for the hell of it, gave him a small punch on his arm. "See ya 'round, Fredward."

Freddie only winced a little at the punch, he was use to her abuse by now and was getting more and more tolerant of the pain, but then the wince turned to utter confusion as he watched her walk off. It took him a moment, but he quickly shook off the shock and went after her.

"Woah, wait a minute," he said as he grabbed her arm and slid back in front of her, blocking her way. "You can't just leave."

"Why not? You know if I go too long without fried chicken I get the shakes."

He sighed as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying hard for some patience. With her, it was always hard to find. "Sam…you just kissed me."

"Uh-huh."

"On the lips," he pointed out in case she momentarily relapsed.

She shrugged. "Yeah, I remember. I don't need a play by play." She took a step to the side of him but he simply followed her lead and continued to block her. "You can move willingly or I'll move you myself…your decision."

"Now we're back to threats, I see." He then gave a little shrug. "That's fine if it makes you more comfortable."

"You want that double tap fist dance after all, Fredrick?"

"I'll pass if it's all the same. We're going to talk about this."

"Undoubtedly so," she agreed with a quick nod. "But not right now."

He crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "Why?"

"Several reasons. Number one?" She stuck out her thumb. "Mama needs her fried chicken."

Freddie ran his tongue across his teeth to keep his lips from twitching up in amusement. The girl always knew how to make him laugh. "And number two?"

She drilled a finger in his chest. "You need time to think first."

He lifted a brow. "Do I?"

"You know you do…I shocked you big time."

He snorted out a laugh. "That's an understatement."

She spread out her hands. "Well, you told me to go for it during your little speech…so I went for it."

"Well, yeah, but I thought…"

"That I loved, Brad, I know." She poked him in the chest again, this time a big harder. "Not my fault you and Carly didn't listen to me."

He frowned as he rubbed his hand where she poked. "Yeah, but how was I suppose to…"

She waved her hands frantically between them. "Ahh, lalala, lala…not talking about it right now, remember?"

He let out a frustrating groan. "All right, FINE…but we will talk about it before this lock-out is over."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now move."

She shoved him aside and he just rolled his eyes as he followed her. "Where are you even going to get fried chicken? There's none at the food cart."

"I keep an emergency stash in my locker," she said turning to him as she opened the door.

This time he didn't stop the smile that bloomed on his face. "Of course you do," he said fondly and followed her inside.

She barely took a step inside when Carly practically jumped her. "What the heck was that?" she exclaimed.

Sam stumbled backwards, away from her currently psycho friend, and fell back against Freddie, who immediately clasped her arms to balance her. "Woah," Sam murmured as she stared at her friend. "Kind of freaking me out, Carls."

"Yeah, you're not blinking," Freddie said as he still held on to Sam.

"Don't try to deny it, I saw the whole thing."

"What whole thing?" Sam and Freddie said in unison.

Freddie looked down when Sam looked up at him. "Don't you dare slap me," he warned and saw her lips twitch before turning back to Carly.

"Why would she slap you, when she just KISSED you." At their widened eyes, Carly straightened as she crossed her arms. "Yes, that's right, I saw it."

Freddie lifted both brows as he loosened the grip on Sam's arms, but didn't let go. "So…you were spying on us?"

"I…I was not SPYING," she balked and when they simply stared at her she flared up her arms. "Okay, so I was spying…but I didn't plan on it. I was looking for Sam to try to talk some more sense to her and I look out the window and see you two…locking lips!" She narrowed her eyes and pointed a deadly finger at them. "Explain yourselves," she whispered.

"Actually," Sam began as she finally shifted off of Freddie. "I'm not talking about it at the moment…you'll have to take it up with Freddie."

She then turned around and looked up at him. "You can let go of me now."

"What?" He looked down to see that he was still touching her, and then lifted them as if she was on fire. "Sorry."

She gave him a smirk. "It's cool."

Freddie's eyes lit with appreciation at the clever twist of their words, while Carly was sputtering out protests as Sam left the room. "Just let her go," Freddie said when Carly started to go after her. "Her mind is too focused on eating fried chicken to talk anyway."

"Started getting the shakes?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Well, then…I'll let her escape for the moment." She turned her attention back to Freddie. "I'll just start with you."

"Actually, I should probably go look for Brad to see if…"

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, I figured," he answered glumly and let Carly push him back outside.

He had a feeling the next few hours of his life were going to be quite interesting.

Freddie turned back to Carly after she closed the door. "So," Freddie said after a few moments of silence. "Whaaat's up?"

"Don't stand there and nonchalantly 'What's up?' me!" she fired back as she slapped her hands on her hips. "Start talking, kissy boy."

He snorted out a laugh. "Kissy boy?"

"Oh, hush!" she exclaimed as she stamped her foot. "Just tell me what is going on!"

"I haven't a clue!" He flared up his hands in frustration. "I don't know how to explain it."

She narrowed eyes. "Try."

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "After you told me about your argument…I went looking for her and found her out here."

She blinked in surprise. "You went looking for her?"

"Yeah…why? Is that surprising?"

She lifted an uneasy shoulder. "Kind of…I had to talk you into helping me push her with Brad in the first place."

"I didn't agree with your little barn method, but it didn't mean I didn't agree that she needed a push."

Carly sniffed. "Still think it would have worked if she actually liked Brad."

He just rolled her eyes. "ANYway…I know she and I bicker…it's what we do…and we're both very good at it…but at the end of the day I care about her, Carly, just as I know she cares about me. So yeah, I went looking for her."

Carly's eyes softened. "I know that…I've always known you two have cared for one another. Even during the good old days…when she gave you wedgies…and pushed you down every chance she got."

He grimaced. "Don't bring up the wedgies, please? I'll have nightmares tonight."

Carly laughed softly and shook her head. "So, what happened when you talked to her?"

"At first it was predictable Sam," he started as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "She resisted and groaned and threatened to hit me, blah, blah, blah…but then she started to listen to my advice, telling her how I know it's scary to put your feelings out there, but to just go for it because you never know what might happen and…well, then…she cut me off mid-sentence."

"What did she say?"

"No, I mean…" He nervously shuffled his feet. "She didn't let me finish what I was going to say because she…kissed me."

"Oh…I see."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I thought you said you saw what happened."

"I didn't see who initiated it…I only saw you kissing."

"Oh…well, now you know as much as I do." He looked up at her hopefully. "Can I go now?"

"No," she said and then started to pace. "This is crazy…I mean, this changes everything."

"I guess it does," he said a little uneasily. "She certainly surprised me."

Carly stopped and stared at him. "It never was Brad. It was you. Sam's in love with [i]you[/i]."

Freddie's heart toppled over in his chest. It never really hit him until now, when Carly said it out loud. Sam was in love with him? How was that even possible? "Well, I…I guess…maybe my app is faulty."

"Freddie…she KISSED you."

His heart tripped again when he remembered the feel of her soft lips pressed firmly against his. At the time, he had been so shocked he hadn't really taken in the moment…but now it was all coming back. The way her fingers curled around his shoulders in a delicate squeeze or the feel of her hair fluttering across his cheek from the slight breeze. And the scent and taste of her…she smelled like apricots and tasted like ham. The combination shouldn't have been so enticing, but heaven help him, it was…very, very enticing. So much that he wanted to experience it again…

"Freddie, are you listening to me?"

"Huh?' He shook his head clear and looked at Carly to see she had stopped pacing and was now standing in front of him. "Sorry…what?"

"I asked you how you felt about the kiss?"

"How I felt?"

"Yeah…I mean, did you enjoy it?"

He gave her a bland look. "Let me remind you that I am in fact a guy, so the answer would be, heck yeah, I enjoyed it."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, well…have you ever felt that way about Sam before?"

Freddie hesitated for a moment and then sighed as he shook his head slowly. "I never really let myself think about her like that, because I thought she only saw me as her dorky friend. I've always thought she was cute…even when we were younger, but…No, I never thought about it, really. Plus, I never really saw much past you, so…"

"Oh, no," Carly said slightly panicked. "I didn't even think about your crush on me…this is bad…if you turn her away because of your feelings for me, that's just going to hurt her. What are we going to…"

"Woah, woah, woah," Freddie said finally cutting of her tantrum. "Time-out, Carly…past tense…I used past tense."

Carly blinked. "Past tense?"

"Yes," he said softly and then smiled. "I do love you, Carly, how can I not? You're one of my favorite people. But, I'm not in love with you."

She looked at him skeptically. "Really?"

"Really," he assured her with a laugh. "After we broke-up, I thought I made a mistake, but…as time went on, I realized that Sam had been right. I was your foreign bacon…and you were mine."

"I was your foreign bacon? How?"

He smiled and gave a little shrug. "Well, think about it? You were the first girl that was nice to me and accepted me for who I was. You were always sweet to me, defended me when Sam or some other bully picked on me. You were my foreign bacon…it just took me longer to figure that out."

"I never thought about it that way," she said quietly and then gave him a small smile. "I'm glad Sam finally knocked some sense into you."

He grinned. "Someone had to."

"Oh, and me turning you down every five seconds wasn't enough?"

He shrugged. "You were too nice about it, I needed Sam to toughen me up."

Carly smiled. "So, what happens next?"

"I'm going to track her down later and talk to her…I told her we'd talk before the lock-in was over."

"She might try and escape…it would be just like her to avoid you."

"She can try…besides, the doors are all locked."

She lifted a brow. "Since when has a locked door every stopped Sam."

His lips pursed in thought. "Good point," he agreed with a nod, but then shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I'll eventually track her down."

"Don't track her down just yet," Carly said as they both made there way back inside. "I'd like to talk to her first."

"Sure, I'll put it off for a bit and go help Brad with the project. I need a little more time to think about it."

Carly turned back towards him. "Freddie…if you do decide that you don't want to go down that path with her…let her down easy. I don't want her to get hurt."

It was crazy for Freddie to even think that he was actually capable of hurting someone as strong as Sam. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I would let Sam break my own arm before I would hurt her."

She smiled and then stepped in for a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Good answer, Benson."

XXXX

It took her awhile to find her, but Carly eventually tracked her down in an empty classroom. She was sitting at the teacher's desk with her feet propped up and her head tilted up to the ceiling.

"How did you find me?" she asked without looking away from the ceiling. She had been counting the cracks in the ceiling…it was the best way to keep her mind from veering back to Freddie. She was at 334 when she first sensed Carly.

"Process of elimination," Carly said as she walked slowly down the isle. "Went from classroom to classroom figuring you had to be in one of them."

"Well, you found me."

Carly walked around the middle desk in the front row and leaned back against it. "Can we talk?"

Sam shrugged. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Sam."

She puttered out a breath. "Fiiiine." She finally lifted her head from the chair and looked over at her friend. "What do you want to know?"

"Why didn't you tell me you had feelings for Freddie?"

"I don't. I mean, I won't," she corrected when Carly started to argue. "It's just temporary…I'll get over this."

"Oh, come on," Carly exclaimed. "We're not talking about some random boy you have a crush on, like Jonah or Pete…this is Freddie we're talking about."

She sighed. "I know." She sat up and plopped her feet back to the floor. "It's must a moment of temporary insanity. My mom gets it all the time with her crazy boyfriends, so I probably just inherited it from her."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, but even if that's the case, this changes things between the three of us."

"Let's not get so dramatic, here, Carls…it was just a kiss. I've kissed him before and it didn't change anything."

"That was different and you know it."

"Maybe," she said after a moment. "Okay, a lot different, but I'll get over it…I'll have to, considering that he doesn't feel the same way."

Carly crossed her arms. "And how do you know that?"

Sam gave her a dry look. "Please…we [i]all[/i] know how Freddie feels about you…he certainly has made that clear in the past."

Carly tilted her lips up in a knowing smirk. "You're right…in the past. What about now?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Has Freddie made it clear that he feels that way about me now?"

"Well, I….sure, I mean…he's always…and then the other day he…um…"

Carly chuckled. "Can't think of anything, can you?"

Sam frowned as she really thought about it. It had been awhile since Freddie made any advancements towards Carly…in fact, the last thing she could think of was during the short time they dated…until she brought up the whole foreign bacon thing. Still, didn't mean the dork didn't have feelings for her anymore. This was Carly…the girl he fantasized and loved for years. There was no way he could just not feel that way about her.

"So he's been more discrete," she finally admitted. "What he felt for you isn't something he could just get over."

"But you're so sure you can?"

"That's different…I wasn't into him that way when we were younger."

She lifted a brow. "Weren't you?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I thought he was an annoying little turd! My abnormal feelings for him have recently changed."

"When did things change?"

Sam sighed as she got to her feet and started to pace in front of Carly. "I don't know, Carls…it just happened."

"Gonna have to explain better than that, Sam."

She kept pacing, back and forth, back and forth, while Carly calmly watched her. She finally stopped pacing in front of her and turned. "The kiss. That jumpstarted it."

"You mean the kiss you two kept from me?"

"Yeah, that one," she said in annoyance and then started pacing again. "At first, I thought that was the only reason why I started to feel about him that way. Just because he was my first kiss, so I assumed it would eventually fade."

"But it never did."

"No, it never did." She stopped pacing again to pout. "It only made me pick on him more…abuse him more. It was the only way I knew how to handle it."

"Knowing you, that makes sense."

Sam sighed. "I don't know what to do, Carly."

Carly's eyes softened as she sat up from the desk and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "You can start by talking to him."

"He's just going to turn me down," she said as she looked at the floor. "Which I guess I'd prefer to the alternative."

"The alternative?"

"You know…picking me as a last resort because he couldn't have you."

"Oh, Sam." Carly's heart went out to her friend as she stepped in for a hug.

"I'm nobody's second place," Sam blurted out as she returned the hug weakly.

"Of course you're not," Carly said almost angrily as she leaned back and gripped her shoulders. "You're somebody's first place…whether it's Freddie or not, there's someone out there that will love you for who you are, Sam. He'll embrace everything about you."

Sam couldn't help but smile. "You think so?"

"I [i]know[/] so." She then sighed as she looked longingly up above. "I can see it now. You two will go out for ribs at least once a week…you'll have your monthly wrestling match, which you will probably win most of the time..."

"Will the wrestling matches end with a make-out session?"

"Of course."

Sam nodded in approval. "Nice."

"You'll laugh together, fight together, drive each other crazy…you'll drag him to some martial art fighting tournament, while he'll drag you to a…"

"Galaxy War convention?"

Carly chuckled. "Maybe…especially if it [i]is[/i] Freddie."

Sam gave her best careless shrug. "Doubt it."

Carly wanted to tell her what Freddie had told her moments ago. That Freddie didn't love her that way anymore. That she was his foreign bacon. She wanted to tell her to give her some of her confidence back, but she knew that it would mean more coming from him. So she held back. It wouldn't hurt, however, to give her a push.

"You won't know for sure till you talk to him."

Sam gave a little nod. "Yeah, I know…you're right. It's certainly not going to do me any good hiding up in a classroom."

"Sooo…you'll go talk with him? Figure it all out?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "I'll go track the dweeb down right now."

Carly rolled her eyes. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to stop the name calling…might win him over that way."

"Well, then I wouldn't be myself now would I?"

Carly pondered a moment, and then gave a sturdy nod. "Good point…now, go get 'em."

Sam flinched when she poked at her and then slapped at her hands. "I'm going, I'm going."

Carly laughed as she watched her go, but called out as she opened the door. "Sam?"

She turned on her heels. "Yeah?"

"Would you go to a Galaxy Wars convention with him?"

Sam gave a little smile as she lifted a shoulder. "What wouldn't I do for the right guy?"

Carly smiled as Sam closed the door behind her. "Good answer, Puckett."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews! Glad you're liking it! Here's the next part…

Freddie tried to put Sam out of his mind, at least temporarily, while he finished working on the project with Brad. He also tried hard not to think about the kiss, but it just kept playing over and over in his head…kind of like one of those videos iCarly fans make for their website.

_Grabs shoulders, leans in, kiss….grab shoulders, leans in, kiss…grab shoulders, leans in…kiss, kiss and more kiss._

He let out a deep sigh as he pulled up the page again and studied the flashing blue and red letters that read, _in love_. Was it really possible? Could Sam actually be in love with him? It didn't make any bit of sense. She constantly put him down every chance she got…however, now that he thought about it…she had been letting up a bit. In fact, she had only teased him a few times today…and that was a record.

Freddie let out a frustrating groan as he shut his laptop with a little more force than usual, causing Brad to look up from his Pear Pad. "Everything okay, man?"

"What?" Freddie looked over to see Brad staring at him with uncertainty. "Oh. Um…not really sure at the moment, but I'll let you know."

Brad set down his Pear Pad as Freddie walked over to the cooler and started rummaging. "Want to talk about it?"

Freddie shook his head as he kept searching through soft drinks and bagged fruit and cheeses. "Where is my ham sandwich?" Freddie finally asked as he looked up.

"Your…oh…that was yours?"

"Yeah, it was mine," he fired back, but then sighed. "Sam took it, didn't she?"

Brad winced. "Fraid so…sorry man, I didn't know."

Freddie waved it off as he grabbed a soft drink. "Don't worry about it, I should have known that putting my name on it would have only encouraged her to take it." He closed the lid and sat on the cooler. "She drives me crazy."

"So, I've noticed." Brad grabbed a chair and pulled it over to Freddie and straddled it. "Is she the reason you're acting all weird?"

He popped the top and held out the can in a mocking toast. "Got it in one."

"What did she do now?"

Freddie was about to politely brush it off, but then hesitated when he realized that for the first time in a long time, he had another guy to talk to. Spencer had always been there for him in the past, but Brad was his age and would probably relate to him better. Sometimes, it was rather difficult to be best friends with a couple of crazy females. He use to have nightmares waking up to find he had grown a nice of boobs and would wake up screaming, then frantically feel his flat chest in relief.

"I guess some guy advice wouldn't hurt," he finally said as he got up and grabbed his laptop and when he returned, simply opened the lid.

Brad's eyes bugged out. "Holy crap-olly!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Brad," he said simply as he closed the laptop and set it aside.

"So, that's why you ran out of the room like a maniac."

He nodded. "Yeah, I went to go tell Carly and we both…well, assumed that it was….you."

Brad blinked. "Say what?"

"We thought she was in love with you," he repeated and cleared his throat. "That's why Carly…left you two alone and turned off the lights."

He was silent a moment as he took it all in and then…busted out laughing. "Are you serious?" he gasped as he was now bent over holding his stomach. "We aren't a bunch of horses on Animal Planet."

"Wow…you and Carly need to hang out more."

"Huh? Why?"

Freddie shook his head. "Nothing. Anyway, she denied it, but we didn't believe her until…"

"Until what?"

"Until…she kissed me."

Brad grinned. "Really? Well, that's great!"

Freddie frowned. "You're not shocked….why aren't you shocked?"

"I've been hanging out with the two of you a lot this week, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that something was going on between you two. I always felt like a third wheel."

Freddie's jaw gaped open. "What on _earth _are you talking about?"

"Oh, please," he laughed with a shake of his head. "When we were working on our project, I was a little in the loop, but when we were just hanging out, it was like I wasn't even there."

Freddie just continued to stare at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra head. "Example, please?" he finally managed to say.

"Well, take the time we went to the movie. She was sitting between us, but her body was always slightly leaning towards you. She was as far away from me as humanly possible."

"I'm _sure _you were just seeing things."

"Oh yeah? Remember the time when the killer jumped out of the closet and Sam screamed bloody murder?"

"Of course I do," Freddie said as he rubbed his hand just thinking about it. She had grabbed his hand and squeezed it so hard he was afraid bones would break. He then blushed when he realized what Brad was getting out. "She was just scared and reacted."

"True, but she grabbed _you_…not me. And don't get me started on your flirtatious little popcorn war."

"She started it," he grumbled as he remembered when Sam had shoved the piece of popcorn that was paused inches from his mouth. He of course, retaliated and tossed popcorn in her hair and then she shoved some down his shirt. It ended up going off and on throughout the entire movie.

"You're smiling."

Freddie's head snapped up. "What? No, I'm not."

He grinned. "Yeah, you were…like a big idiot in love."

Freddie snorted. "That's ridiculous," he balked as he shot up to his feet and started to pace. "There's absolutely no way that can be accurate."

"Why not?"

"Because, she…because, I…just, because, all right?"

"Wow, you showed me."

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled as he dove his fingers in his hair and gripped. "This is ridiculous. I can_not _be in love with Sam…it's just not normal."

"Duly noted, Benson."

Freddie spun on his heels and felt his heart drop to his stomach when he saw Sam standing in the doorway. "Sam. No, wait!" he exclaimed when she turned to leave. "You don't understand."

"No, I understand just fine, Fredward," she said and then held up a hand when he reached out. "Don't touch me…just forget it. Forget about everything."

She took off before he could even process what to say and finally snapped out of it when Brad shoved him forward. "Go after her, stupid."

He shook his head sadly. "She won't listen."

"Make her listen."

"I can't, Brad."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what I'd say…I hate that I hurt her, but…I think I would just hurt her more if I track her down only to tell her I'm not sure that I feel the same way."

"Want my opinion?"

Freddie rolled his eyes as he kept his back to him. "Not really."

"Too bad, because here it goes." He reached up and gripped his shoulders, causing him to wince slightly. "Don't screw it up. I'd hate for you to lose one heck of a friend like Sam, because that would suck."

Freddie's stomach clenched painfully at the thought. "You're right…that would definitely suck."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for all the reviews guys! And another big thanks to those who have put my story on their faves and alert lists! It really makes me happy and that much more excited to write! Here's the next part! Read, enjoy, review!

~Magarooski

Freddie buried himself into the project for the remainder of the lock-in, with Brad being his only company. He didn't know if Sam had left early or if she had spoken with Carly. He half expected her to come flying in the room madder than hell, demanding what she had done to Sam. She never did...thank God.

"Freddie?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to use the app on you? It might help you figure out how you feel."

"I thought about that," he said without taking is eyes off his computer screen.

"But?" Brad asked, when he felt the hesitation.

He gave s little shrug. "But...it seems unfair to do that. Like I'm taking the easy way in letting technology tell me what I feel. How I feel about Sam has to be figured out on my own, otherwise, I won't really be confident that they were real.". He sighed as he looked at Brad. "Does that make any sense? Or do I just sound stupid?"

Brad shook his head. "Not stupid at all and it makes perfect sense. You're absolutely right. Look, why don't we try the app on me...I'm guessing you don't want to use Sam's reading for the project."

"You guessed right...thanks, Brad."

"No prob." He sat in the chair in front of the Pear Pad. "Fire away."

His mood had been _Sympathetic_, which had caused an awkward moment between them, but they both ignored it and moved on. By the time they were officially done, the lock-out had come to a close.

He never saw Sam or Carly in the hallway on his way out, and in the end, he thought it was for the best. Eventually, he would have to talk with Sam, he thought as he rode silently in his mom's car while she went on and on about a mother/son cooking class she signed up for. Ugh.

"Fredward, are you listening to your mother?"

"Yes, mom," he said without looking from the window. "And it sounds fun...can't wait."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"You're not coming down with something are you? Let me check your fever."

"Ah, mom...cut it out," he huffed as he slapped her prodding hand away. "I'm fine...watch the road, will you? I'm not in the mood to get in a car wreck and die."

She put both hands back on the wheel, but still had that worried look on her face he was all too familiar with. "Mom, I'm _fine_...promise. I'm just a little sleep deprived. "

"Well...I guess that makes sense since you've been up all night." She sniffed as she lifted her chin. "I never liked these lock-ins."

"They're a lot of fun...and I have all day to catch up on sleep. I'll probably pass out right when my head hits the pillow."

But it didn't. Thoughts of Sam's surprisingly soft lips pressed urgently against his kept him tossing and turning. And when sleep finally did take over...thoughts turned to dreams.

In his dream, the kiss never ended...it kept going and going...as if they didn't need to breathe. And when they did finally pull apart, an overwhelming fatigue took over them as they slid to the ground. His eyes began to droop as he rolled onto his back and Sam simply followed as her head dropped to his chest.

"_Freddison?" Her voice was slurry, but he could understand her clearly._

"_Hmm?"_

"_You taste just as good as fried chicken." _

_He smiled lazily. "Thanks princess Puckett."_

He woke up reaching for her, patting the empty spot beside him before he realized it was a dream. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

He puttered out a breath as he stared at the ceiling. He didn't know exactly what it meant or still what Sam meant to him.

"But it's time to find out," he said out loud, before rolling over to grab his Pear Phone on the table to send her a text.

_We need to talk. Come over._

He sent the text and waited for what seemed like an hour. When his text alert went off, his heart actually shuddered.

_I'm not at Carly's._

_Then I'll come over there._

_Not a good idea. Mom's personal waxer is removing unwanted hair as we speak._

"Gross!" he laughed as his thumbs danced over the keys.

_TMI! Come over here._

_Is your mom there?_

_Yes, but we can talk out on the fire escape._

As second after he hit _send, _he realized what he had just typed. The fire escape…where it all started. Probably wasn't the best of idea to suggest that, it would probably freak her out and she would make some excuse not to…

_Give me thirty minutes._

His heart gave jolt at the text. "Okay, maybe not so freaked out then."

Sam would be here and thirty minutes. God, why was he nervous all of the sudden. He shouldn't be nervous…it was just a harmless chat between friends. That's all. No big deal.

_Huge _deal, he finally admitted to himself and then collapsed back onto his pillow.

"O….M…G."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me a bit longer to get this out! I don't think I'll take as long with the next update! So don't worry!**

**Chapter 4**

Carly frowned as she read Sam's response over her shoulder. "Why did you tell him you weren't here?"

"To give me more time to get ready," she said as she quickly made up an excuse not to for him to come over and then chuckled at his response. "I'm going to need to borrow clothes by the way."

"Of course…don't want you to go over in the same clothes you wore at the lock-in. You're going to shower…right?"

"Ugh…I guess so." She groaned as she got up. "Pick something for me to wear and _no, _you can't pick something girly."

Carly's shoulder's slumped. "Aww."

"Don't get me wrong…mama wants to look good…especially if the nerd is going to turn me down, but I still want to be myself."

Carly smiled. "Okay, I'll pick something perfect…now go hop in the shower."

"Okay," she said and then rushed up the stairs.

Before Carly could follow her up, Spencer shuffled out of his room dressed in pajama pants and a penny tee that said _Sticky Shoes _across the front. "Morning, Spencer."

He simply glared at her before lifting up his chin as he strutted passed her to the kitchen.

"Oh, come on…you're not still mad at me are you?"

He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and poured some Fruity O's all the way to the rim. "I believe I am…I'm not speaking to you ever."

She rolled her eyes. "You're overreacting."

Spencer poured the milk into the bowl then slammed it on the counter like a child. "You _electrocuted_ me!"

"Not enough to be fatal," she said with a bright smile. "And it was for science."

He let out a snort and shoveled in the first bite then immediately started spouting off, spewing Frutie O' bits all over Carly.

"First of all…_ewww!_" she exclaimed as she brushed crumbs off her face. "Second of all…I have no idea what you said."

He swallowed the bite. "Just know it was bad…very, very bad."

"Fine…I'm _sorry_…please, pretty please, forgive me?" She gave her most pitiful looking face as she poked out her bottom lip.

He shook his head in denial. "Nope, uh-uh…that's not going to work…stop it…Carly, stop that one second! It's not going to…ugh, fine I forgive you!" he exclaimed as he stomped his foot.

"Yay!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his waist. "Love you! Now, I gotta go get Sam ready!"

"Wait, get ready for…and there she goes," he ended lamely as she ran up the stairs. He sighed as he picked up his bowl and was about to take a bite when the back door by the kitchen flung open.

Gibby jumped inside and screamed, causing Spencer to let out a high pitch wail as he dropped his bowl of Frutie O's on the floor. "Gibby!"

He simply lifted his clipboard and calmly began to write. "Subject still jittery from chamber…side note…Subject screams like girl."

"What? No, I don't…Don't you put that in there!"

Gibby, simply gave him a salute, before closing the door behind him.

Spencer scowled. "I really hate that boy sometimes."

XXXX

It took a bit of work and a little bit of arguing between the two girls before they finally agreed on a suitable outfit. There was a mountain of discarded clothes on Carly's bed and she sighed as she collapsed on top of him. "Is this how it's always going to be when I help you dress for a guy you like? You weren't this difficult when you wanted to be more girly."

Sam just shrugged as she checked herself out in the mirror. They had decided on a simple pair of brown shorts that showed off her legs nicely and a simple red cotton tank top to go with it. She was planning on just wearing Carly's sand colored Tom's, but Carly talked her into wearing these strappy sandals that showed off her pedicure Carly had dragged her to the other day.

"Do I look nice without it seeming I was trying to look nice?"

Carly sighed. "You look fine, Sam…now go, you're already running late."

"I'm not worried about that…he can wait."

Carly sat up. "Does that mean we have time for me to do your make-up."

"No way," she said as she turned to Carly and held up her hands. "I'm not letting you slap gunk on my face for him…I draw the line there."

Carly pouted. "Fine."

Sam chuckled. "Cheer up, kid…there will be plenty of opportunities in the future…like my wedding."

Carly rolled her eyes. "I won't do your make-up for your wedding because I'll make you hire a professional."

Sam winced. "Gross."

She laughed as she stood up from the bed. "Get out of here, will you, so I can clean up this mess?"

Sam stared at the leaning tower of clothes. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Thanks…good luck with, Freddie."

She winced again. "On second thought, I'll clean if you go in my place and…"

Carly pointed at the door. "Go."

Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah, all right."

Sam walked downstairs to see Spencer on the couch with his feet propped on the coffee table watching TV. "See ya, Spence."

"Where are you off to?" he asked never removing his eyes from the screen.

"Oh, just off to go see Freddie so he can turn me down."

He gave a little wave. "Have fun."

Sam just rolled her eyes as she walked out of the apartment and then took two steps across the hall and quickly knocked on the door before she lost her nerve.

Ten long agonizing seconds ticked by before the door finally opened and Freddie stood in the doorway. He had on a simple pair of faded denim jeans and his feet were bare…which for some reason Sam found kind of hot. She needed help. He also wore a navy and blue striped collared shirt, causing her to grimace. When he just grinned, she knew that he wore the striped shirt on purpose.

"Hey," he said still sporting the grin and then stepped back. "Come in."

Sam walked in and immediately looked out around for his crazy mother.

"She's not here like I thought," he said answering her silent question. "Had left a note that she would be running errands all day."

"Good…your mother doesn't like me much."

"Can you blame her?"

She looked over at him and smiled. "Guess not."

He flashed a quick grin and then cleared his throat. "Uh…anyway, we don't have to go out to the fire escape since she's not here. We can talk in the den or…"

"Let's go out on the fire escape," she suggested. "It's nice out and your apartment smells like someone went a little overboard on the potpourri."

"Yeaaah…my mom is kind of going through this phase where she likes to make potpourri. She tries to sell it, but doesn't have much luck. Don't have the heart to tell her she sucks."

"I'll tell her for you," she offered as she followed him over to the window that lead out to the fire escape.

He let out a laugh as he crawled out of the window. "I'm sure you would," he said as he held out a hand for her. "But I'd rather you not."

Sam took the offered hand and found the gesture enduring. She knew that he knew she could easily crawl through the window on her own…but he held out a hand anyway. It was so damn _sweet_. "Just let me know if you change your mind," she said once she safely made it through.

"You'll be the first." A moment passed as they stood closely together and it wasn't until he saw Sam look down that he realized he was still holding her hand. "Sorry," he muttered as he quickly let go of her hand.

"Did I apologize?" she asked, finding it quite amusing when he blushed.

"Er…no." He cleared his throat as he nervously wiped his hands on his jeans. "Here…we can sit down, if you want. I brought out an extra chair."

"I can sit," she said as she slid past him, making sure her body grazed his as she passed.

Freddie gulped when their bodies brushed together and had the strongest urge to just grab her and kiss her. It was absolutely insane…he actually had to shove his hands safely in his pockets to keep him from actually going through with it.

Sam stretched out her legs and propped them on the railing. "You gonna sit or what?"

"What? Oh, yeah…sorry."

"You're apologizing a lot, Fredward."

He just shrugged as he sat down. "Sorry."

Sam grinned. "So…you wanted to talk to me."

Freddie mirrored her position and folded his arms over his stomach. "I wanted us to talk so we can figure all this out."

Sam groaned. "I don't get why talking it to death is going to help."

"What else do you suggest?"

"Forget that it ever happened and go on our merry way? You continue to be the dork we all know and love and I continue to tease you and make your life miserable."

He cocked his head to the side as he studied her. "As comforting as your suggestion may sound…I don't think we can ever go back to that."

She sighed. "Fine…your way then. Well…start talking Fredison and I'll answer."

"Fair enough."

"Well," she said after a moment of silence. "What do you want to know?"

"You can start by telling me how long you've felt this way."


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Another update already! This talk with Freddie and Sam is kind of longer than I planned so I'm gonna chop it up in different chapters! I've been having so much fun writing it, I want to stretch it out! For now, enjoy the next part! Thanks again for the reviews…really appreciate you guys taking the time to let me know how you like it! **

**ENJOY!**

Chapter 5

"You can start by telling me how long you've felt this way."

She shrugged. "Just sort of happened." She knew that answer didn't satisfy Carly, but hoped Freddie would be different.

"Not good enough, Sam."

_No such luck_. "I guess it was the kiss, then."

"You guess?"

"Well, what else could it be?" she exclaimed as she lifted her hands. "I certainly didn't like you like that when we were younger."

"I certainly didn't think you liked me like that a _day _ago."

"What can I say? I hide my feelings well."

He snorted out a laugh. "You can say that again. You wouldn't have shocked me more if you smashed my head with a cast-iron skillet…and don't be getting any ideas, Puckett," he quickly added when she looked intrigued.

"That is a good weapon," she said but then waved it off. "Don't worry, I'll give you a free pass since you thought of it."

He grinned. "That'll work. I _do _like watching you beat up on other people, but…"

"Do you have any food?"

Freddie blinked. "What?"

"Food…do you have anything edible in that kitchen? I'm starving."

"We have quite a few edible things in the kitchen."

She held up a hand. "Let me rephrase…Do you have anything edible for _my _stomach."

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, Sam…I might have a bag of low sodium potato chips."

"That'll work…go get that...Oh, or maybe you can…"

"I'm not making you a ham sandwich," he said as he got up. "But I'll get the chips along with some soft drinks."

"Ugh…they're diet, aren't they?"

"We're at my mother's, what do you think?" he asked as he crawled inside.

Once he was gone, Sam took a steady breath to compose her self. So far, it was going okay, but she still was a nervous wreck and needed a moment before they really got into it.

Why? Why on earth did she have to feel this way about him? She wished she could go back in time and take away that moment on this very same fire escape. If that hadn't happen, maybe she wouldn't have all these unwanted feelings crawling around inside her. But, she couldn't go back so it was pointless to even think about it. She just needed to…

"Okay, here we go," Freddie said as he slipped back outside and tossed the bag into her lap and plopped down in his chair before handing her the diet soda.

"Thanks," she said as she grabbed the can and popped the top. She grimaced after her first sip. "Ugh."

Freddie sighed. "I know," he said sympathetically before taking his first sip and then shuddered. "Are the chips any better?"

"Taste like tree bark," she said while she crunched painfully. "How on earth do you survive on this stuff?"

"I don't." He hesitantly took a chip when she held out the bag and popped one in his mouth, grimacing as he chewed. "I raid Carly and Spencer's fridge just as much as you do…_I'm _just more discreet about it."

She cackled out a laugh as she munched another chip. "We are good at that, aren't we?"

He laughed. "Cheers to that," he said as he held out his can.

They both toasted, both sipped and both grimaced.

"I really appreciate you getting this for me, but I'd rather starve than eat another bite."

"I'm done, too."

Sam then simply rolled up the bag that was still fairly full and chunked it over the side.

"Sam!" Freddie exclaimed. "You can't just throw it over like that!"

"What's the big deal? Maybe a hobo will catch it and enjoy."

Freddie couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, but…"

A loud, screeching scream from below interrupted him and Freddie stared at Sam with wide eyes, while she stared back. They both knew that scream very well.

"Lewbert," they both exclaimed before darting to their feet and peered over the side.

They were pretty high up but could make out Lewbert's tiny body flaring around while shaking the bag of potato chips around while he continued to yell and scream in anger.

"Oh, I wish I had my camera," Freddie laughed as he unconsciously put a hand around her shoulders while they continued to enjoy the greatness of Lewbert.

"It would make some great stuff for iCarly."

"Hey, he's given up throwing a tantrum and he's now eating the chips!"

"How can he even stand it?"

"I'm sure he's eaten grosser things." Freddie then smirked over at her as he held out his can. "Bet those chips are making him thirsty." He jiggled the can. "Why don't we quench his thirst?"

She lifted an intriguing brow. "An evil side of Freddie…I like it."

He just chuckled. "Okay, on the count of three…wait, we have to aim this differently because of the wind. "Come over here."

He backed away from the rail a bit and nudged her until she was nestled between him and the rail. He then leaned over her shoulder and placed a hand on the rail next to hers, practically caging her in. "Okay, that's perfect."

"On three?" Sam asked as she silently enjoyed the way his chest was pressed lightly against her back.

"On three…one…"

"Two."

"Three."

They both tipped the can upside down and Sam laughed when Freddie made a high pitch sound of a bomb dropping from the sky.

"Ohhh!" they exclaimed when the double brown liquid streams hit Lewbert directly on his head.

Laughter consumed them while they watched him freak out and when Lewbert suddenly looked up; Freddie grabbed her by the waist and yanked her back. "Did he see us?" he laughed.

"Probably, but who cares?"

"I certainly don't. High-five, Pucket."

"That deserves a double high-five," she said as she turned her body towards him and held up both hands.

He grinned as he slapped his hands with hers up top then they both brought it down low in a wide circle before meeting their own hands in a second clap. "Nice."

"Can you hear him? He's still wailing like a psychopath."

"Kind of hard not to. Here…I'll turn on my iPod to drown him out."

"Good idea," she said but then let out a reluctant sigh when he moved away from her. She enjoyed being near him way too much…it was one of the reasons why she liked to challenge him in an arm wrestling match or just tackle him for no reason…it was all excuses into letting her get near him.

"You know, it's comforting," Freddie started as he turned the volume at a level that was soft enough for them to talk, but loud enough to drown out Lewbert.

"What is?" Sam asked as she sat back down.

"That we can still be like that."

Sam frowned as he sat in his chair. "What do you mean?"

"Well…even though things have…changed between us…it's nice to know we're still comfortable around each other to share a moment like that together."

She smiled softly. "Yeah…I guess you're right."

He smiled back and then both fell into silent as they figured out what to say next. They knew that it was time to circle back to what was going on between them, but neither of them knew exactly what to say.

"So," Sam finally said as she shifted slightly towards him in her chair. "How bout you?"

His brows furrowed. "What about me?"

"Well…you've had…time to…think about what happened, I mean…you _have _been thinking about it…right?"

He huffed out a sigh. "Haven't been able to think about much else."

Sam's heart shuddered. "Really?"

"Well, yeah…how could I not? You kissed me, Sam…for quite a long time I might add."

She couldn't stop the blush that flooded her cheeks. "Yeah…should I apologize for that?"

"You already did."

"Oh…right…well…hmm…I really don't know what to say now, so maybe you should start talking."

He smiled softly, enjoying this rare and wonderful side of her. He couldn't remember ever seeing Sam this vulnerable before and it was nice to see she was capable of a softer side. "I did enjoy the kiss, Sam."

Her eyes flickered to his. "I feel a 'but' coming on."

His lips curved in amusement. "But…I'm not sure it's a good idea."

Her heart plummeted painfully to her stomach, but hid her disappointment with a wobbly smile. "I understand, Freddie…It's stupid…just forget it."

"I'm not saying no, Sam," he said softly as he reached out and touched her arm.

She lifted her brows. "You're not?"

"No…but I'm not saying yes, either…I just want to figure things out before we dive head first into this. It would be the better way to handle it."

"And Freddie Benson always does the right thing," she teased. "But, what about…"

He cut her off by suddenly moving his chair closer to hers. "Take my hand," he said as he turned his palm up

Sam frowned at his hand and then blinked back at him. "Huh? Why?"

"Just take it," he encouraged her with a smile. "I want to try something."

She continued to look at him like he was crazy, but then eventually sighed as she clasped her hand with his. "Fine…now what?"

He leaned back comfortably in his chair as he propped his ankle on his knee and then rested their joined hands on his other knee. "Okay, go on."

She looked up their clasped hands and then back up to Freddie. "Go on, what?"

"Continue…what were you going to say before I interrupted you?"

She shook her head as she tried to clear her thoughts. "Um…I don't know, I…oh, I was about to bring up Carly, but…"

"Okay, what about Carly?"

"Well, I was going to say…do you really want to have this conversation while we're holding hands?" she asked as she lifted them, waving them in his face.

"Sure." He simply pulled them back where they were. "That's what couples do, right? Hold hands while they talk?"

Sam's heart shuddered under her chest. "Yes, but…we're not a couple."

"Not at the moment, no…consider it a experiment."

"An experiment?"

"Sure…let's see how it feels. It might feel completely natural or it might feel extremely weird."

"Okaaay…how ya feeling so far?"

He shrugged. "Can't tell for sure since we've been talking about the fact that we're holding hands. Now, we need to discuss something else, while holding hands…that way we can know for sure. So…what about Carly?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's the next update! If you haven't reviewed the story yet, I would love to hear from you! Please let me know how you like it! Thanks to all my readers who have been reviewing, it means so much to me! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Boo for Monday tomorrow…I don't want to go to work!**

**Chapter 6**

Sam shook her head hopelessly and decided to just go with his stupid plan. Okay, maybe it wasn't so stupid…and she did kind of like the feel of her hand tucked safely in his. She sighed as she shifted her body slightly toward him so that her knees grazed his leg. "Well," she began as she tried to figure out the right words. "I know you have strong feelings for Carly…you've made that pretty clear in the past."

"I have," he agreed. "In the past."

"Right, sooo…how would this work? I couldn't be with you if…"

"I don't have feelings for Carly anymore, Sam."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Freddie…I was right there. You were obsessed with her."

"Notice you're using past tense," he pointed out as he began to sweep his thumb over her skin, back and forth.

Neither of them noticed.

"Okay, _maybe _you've been a little bit more discreet about your feelings, but…"

"I haven't been discreet about my feelings for Carly, Sam…I simply don't have them anymore."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"I can't make you believe anything, you'll just have to take my word for it."

She studied him hard as she looked for any signs in his face that would give him away, but she couldn't find anything. He looked dead serious. "Let's say I believe you for a second and you don't have feelings for Carly…when did they stop?"

He pursed his lips as he pondered for a moment. "You know, I initially thought they faded away shortly after we broke up, but…now I'm not so sure."

"Really? Sometime after then?"

He shook his head. "No, more like sometime before."

Sam widened her eyes. "For real? _Before _you saved her life?"

He gave a little shrug. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure my feelings for her were slowly starting to slip away when all that went down. I didn't really want to believe it, I even thought I had made a mistake after I ended things."

"Wait…_you_ ended things?"

"Yeah…as much as I hated to admit it, you had a pretty strong point about your bacon theory. I told Carly we needed to back off until I was at least out of my cast. I thought Carly told you."

She shook her head. "No, she never really said anything. It was like one second you two were together and the next, you were back to being just friends."

"Well, that's how it happened."

"I can't believe you actually listened to me."

He frowned. "Why wouldn't I? Sure, you were giving me a hard time at first, but I could tell you were really trying to help me."

She shrugged. "I just didn't want you to make a fool of yourself."

He lifted a brow. "Is that your way of telling me you were worried that I'd get hurt?

She rolled her eyes. "No…okay…maybe I cared a little about you getting hurt."

He grinned. "And you were a little jealous."

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't push it, Benson."

Laughter tumbled out of him as he threw his head back. "You crack me up, Puckett," he said and then simply lifted their joint hands and pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

Sam's jaw dropped, causing Freddie to chuckle. "Wha—what the heck was that?"

"I don't know…just seemed like the thing to do at the time." His eyes turned wary. "Are you going to hurt me?"

Still stunned, she could only manage to shake her head.

"Good…it was another experiment since holding hands is turning out all right."

"I forgot we were doing it."

"Me, too…that's a good thing."

"I suppose it is," she agreed.

"Are you ready for another experiment?"

"Maybe," she said with a soft smile. "Got one in mind?"

"I do."

Her eyes brightened. "Does it involve rubbing my feet?"

His lips twitched up into an amused smirk. "Not this one, but we'll keep that in mind."

She nodded in approval. "Nice."

He straightened in his chair and placed his other foot back down. "All right, stand up," he said as he pulled her out of the chair and tugged her over to him.

She let out a yelp when he yanked her down onto his lap. "Benson!"

"What?" he laughed as he placed his hands on her hips to steady her. "Girl's sit on their boyfriend's lap all the time, right?"

"But we're not…"

"Together, yeah, yeah, yeah," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You're beginning to sound like a broken record, Sam. We're _experimenting_…remember? Now, just lean back and relax a little."

"Fine…how's this?"

She leaned back against Freddie's chest, but did it with a little extra force, causing Freddie to wheeze out a breath. "Perfect," he croaked.

Sam was about to fire back another sarcastic remark when Freddie laced his fingers with hers in both hands. "Can I just say…this is not how I thought this conversation was going to go?"

"Neither did I," he confessed as he began to flirtatiously toy with her fingers. "I never would have imagined I could be this comfortable around you."

Sam felt herself start to relax against him. "You're around me all the time."

"With Carly as a buffer most of the time." Freddie was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed the way her hair grazed his cheek. "In fact, I think this is the longest we've ever been alone together."

She smiled. "Three years ago, we would never have been able to survive this."

He laughed. "No question…it would have been insanely awkward and you'd have probably thrown me over the rail by now."

Sam gave a little nod of agreement. "Probably right."

"Does it feel weird now?"

"I wouldn't say weird…just different. How bout you? I'm sitting on your lap and holding hands with me…it must seem strange to you."

"Honestly? I thought we were doomed at the holding hands part…but I was wrong. It didn't feel weird at all…it felt natural…which is weird…because it should have…but it didn't…which is weird…yet natural."

She turned her head slightly towards him until their eyes met. "It's also weird that I understood that."

He grinned. "I'm not surprised…you always did know me better than I liked."

She returned the grin. "You know me just as much."

"True…more than you probably realize actually."

She lifted a brow. "You think so?"

"Sure…ask me something

"Ask you something?"

"Yeah…anything about you."

"Okaaay," she drawled. "What kind of coffee do I get at Skybucks?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Well…you get a White Chocolate Mocha with extra whip cream most times, but at Christmas time you tell them to add peppermint."

Her lips twitched. "Nicely done, Benson."

"Thanks. That was an easy one."

"Name a pet peeve of mine?"

"Striped shirts."

She turned to him and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, about that…I know you wore that awful shirt just to annoy me."

"You're right, I did...looks like you know me pretty, too."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You're such a dork," she said as she nudged a shoulder against him.

"So you've said…many of times." He playfully plopped his chin on her shoulder. "But me being a dork didn't stop you from laying one on me."

"True…I kissed a dork," she agreed while nodding. "But at least I kissed a cute dork."

His eyes tilted up while she smirked down at him. "You think I'm cute?"

She sighed. "You have moments, I guess."

He grinned. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Puckett."

She jerked when he let go of her hand to poke her in her ribs. "Don't get use to it, Fredrick," she grumbled as she smacked at his hand. "Cut that out."

He just chuckled as he leaned back in his chair and brought her with him. "Sorry…I'll behave."

She sighed as she happily followed him. "So, now what?"

"What?'

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

"I don't think so."

"Really?"

"Well, I'm sure there are things I can think of, but there's no need to talk about it right now."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Who says we have to talk about something?"

"We can't just sit here together like this and not say anything."

"Why not? Couples that are comfortable around each other do it."

"How are you an expert on all this? You've never had a long-term girlfriend."

"It's all those romantic comedies you and Carly drag me to."

"No one makes you go, Benson."

"I know, but you guys are my friend and I like hanging out with you guys. Hey, look…" He lifted one of their joined hands and pointed to the sky. "Sun's going down…should be a pretty sunset."

"Aww…are we going to snuggle and watch the sunset?"

He grinned. "We could…we're due for another experiment."

She sighed, but then shrugged. "Okay, why not? But it seems kind of lame, Fred-a-dork…we even have background music. We're like a real life movie cliché."

"Yes, but the leading lady would never call her boyfriend 'Fred-a-dork'."

She laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "If the movie was good she might."

He let out a laugh as he lifted a hand to nuzzle her hair. "Shut your trap, Blondie and enjoy the sunset."

She smiled. "Don't tell me what to do."

"You always to have the last word, don't you?"

"Of course…now, be quiet so I can enjoy this touching moment."

His chest shook with laughter. "Yes, mam," he murmured as he couldn't stop the smile blooming on his face as they watched the sun sink lower and lower. He almost wanted to slow down the process because surprisingly…he didn't want this moment to end.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Here's the next update! It is a bit short, but I have family coming in tomorrow night so I'll be too busy to write much over the weekend. I wanted to give you a little something to hold on to! If I'm slow at work, I MIGHT try to start the next part so I can update ASAP. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews! Means so much to me!**

**Much love~**

**Magarooski **

"Sam?"

The sound of his voice murmuring in her ear jolted her a bit. They had watched the sun go down without saying a word and she had been so relaxed in his arms that she almost drifted off a few times.

"Hmm?"

"You believe me, right? About not liking Carly that way anymore?"

Sam sighed…their peaceful quiet moment together had come to an end. "I don't want to talk about Carly right now."

"We don't have to," he assured her. "I just want to make sure you believe it…I really don't feel that way about her."

She shrugged. "Whatever."

"Don't casually shrug this off, Sam…It's important that you know exactly how I feel about Carly."

"Fine," she groaned as she sat up.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he felt her start to get up from his lap.

"Going back to my chair…I'm not sitting on your lap while we talk about Carly."

He frowned when she left his lap and immediately felt alone, which was ridiculous of course, she only moved a few inches to his left. She didn't go anywhere. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew you were going to shut down like this."

"I'm not shutting down," she fired back as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just talk already…I'm listening."

"There's not much to talk about, I was just bringing it up so you knew I was serious…I've even talked to Carly about it."

"Really? When?"

"Right after you bailed to go eat fried chicken."

"Oh."

"She freaked out," he started as he tucked his hands under his arms. He badly wanted to take her hand, but knew she wouldn't accept it…for now. "She thought I still had feelings for her, too, and was afraid you'd get hurt, but then I quickly assured her I didn't feel about her that way…that what I felt for her was never really genuine."

"Why do you say that? You loved Carly."

"No, Sam…I didn't…I never _really_ did. You see…she was _my _foreign bacon."

Sam's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard me."

"But…but…how?"

His lips curved. "You're a clever girl…what do you think?"

She threw her hands up. "Heck, I don't know!"

"Sure you do."

She sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess…maybe because…she was always so ridiculously nice to you?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" he exclaimed as he playfully poked her sides. "Give her a prize!"

She jumped at his probing fingers and then slapped them away "Cut that out, Freddrick!"

He chuckled, but did as she asked. "So there, you see? Carly is now just my friend and my friend only. I do love her, Sam…but only as friend loves a friend…or a brother loves a sister. I guess I should have made it clear awhile ago, I just assumed both of you realized it."

"And how were we suppose to know that?" she snapped back even though she was squealing with complete utter joy on the inside. "We can't read minds, you know?"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of that…and if I could go back I'd do it differently, but how was I suppose to know that it mattered? I didn't know how you felt, Sam."

"Of course you didn't…I made sure of it. You _still _wouldn't know if it wasn't for your stupid Pear Pad App."

He lifted a brow. "Oh, really? Well…in that case, I'm glad Brad thought of it."

"Why?" she scoffed. "So you can rub it in my face?"

"Of course not," he balked. "Don't be ridiculous."

Her tough persona she was putting on immediately faded when she noticed the hurt in his eyes. "You're right…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I guess I'm just a little insecure about this kind of thing."

"You have no reason to be," he said softly and then took a chance by covering her hand with his. "You're an amazing person…I mean it," he added when she scoffed. "You're like no one I've ever met." He smiled as he lifted her hand to his lips for the second time tonight. "And that's the best compliment I can give you, Blondie."

Pleasure spread through her like wildfire and couldn't stop the corners of her lip from tilting up. "You're quite the smooth talker, Benson."

He grinned. "Thanks."

"It's a pleasant surprise."

He linked his fingers with hers. "Are we cool?"

"As cool as we can be, I guess."

"Good...doooeees that mean you'll come back on my lap?" he asked hopefully.

She blushed…dammit, he was making her blush like an idiot. "That would be nice, but…I should probably leave."

His heart dropped with disappointment. He literally felt it hit the bottom of his stomach. "Oh…okay."

"We've been out here for awhile," she continued even though she was dying to stay with him just a little bit longer. "Your mom will be home soon I imagine and my mom's probably getting worried." She sighed when he gave a look. "All right, probably not…but still…it's getting late and…I guess we need more time to think about all this."

"Probably right." He sighed as he slowly stood up and helped her to her feet. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." He led her to the window…going through first and then helped her through. He never let go of her hand as he led her through the apartment. When he reached the door, he turned the deadbolt but didn't open it. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want you to know that…well…your friendship means the world to me and I don't want anything to screw it up. No matter what happens between us, I don't want to lose you, so you'll have to promise me I won't, because…"

"Because what?" she prompted when his voice faded away.

He sighed. "Because my life wouldn't be right without you in it…I know that sounds cheesy, but I don't really care…it's the truth."

Sam felt her heart turn painfully in her chest. No one had ever said anything like that to her before…she would never forget it. "You couldn't lose me if you tried, nub."

A smile bloomed on his face and with a soft chuckle he pulled her in his arms. "Thanks," he murmured softly into her hair.

She circled her arms around his waist and nuzzled her cheek against her chest. "Of course…you're stuck with me, Fred-a-dork…whether you like it or not."

His lips curved against the top of her head. "I like."

She smiled softly as she held onto him a moment longer before finally pulling away. "I better go, but…I'm glad you asked me over."

"Me, too. I'll see you later then?"

She nodded. "Sure…I'll probably be over at Carly's for a little bit before I head home."

"Okay…well, maybe I'll come over later."

"Great…well…see ya."

"Bye," he said as he reached by her to open the door only to slam it back shut before she could go through. "Wait."

She blinked up at him. "What is it?"

He kept his eyes firmly on hers as he slowly turned back the deadbolt and the click of the lock echoed loudly. "I'm ready for another experiment."


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! SO sorry it's taking me this long, but I've had some family in town the last few weeks and I've been super busy! Things are finally slowing down for me now so I was able to get this out! Hope it was worth the wait! Thanks for all the support!

Magarooski

Chapter 8

"Bye," he said as he reached by her to open the door only to slam it back shut before she could go through. "Wait."

She blinked up at him. "What is it?"

He kept his eyes firmly on hers as he slowly turned back the deadbolt and the click of the lock echoed loudly. "I'm ready for another experiment."

She lifted a brow even though her heart was practically leaping out of her chest. "You seem to be full of these experiments."

"What can I say? I'm a geek through and through."

"I can agree with that."

He smiled softly as he reached up to toy with a wavy strand of her hair. "Yet, you love me anyway."

She shuddered in a breath, preparing to deny it, but then sighed in defeat. "I guess I do."

He felt his heart quiver with delight…it was the first time she had admitted it out loud. Looked like his Mood App worked after all. "Sam—"

"So back to this experiment," she said as she looked up at him. "What is it?"

"I think you know."

"Maybe, but doesn't mean I understand. You should already know how you feel considering we've done it twice already."

"The first time doesn't count…we both didn't know how we felt about each other…and the last kiss was all you. You caught me off guard and I didn't even have the time to think about how it felt. I did enjoy it, but now I think it would be smart if we kiss again because…"

"Because you want to test another experiment to see how you truly feel, blah, blah, blah…I get it. I'm starting to feel like a lab rat, you know."

"Sam." He reached up and cradled her face with his hands and waited until her eyes flickered up to his. "I want us to kiss again because that's all I've been able to think about doing since. These experiments have been nothing more than excuses…I want to kiss you again, and then probably again after that…and then after that…and after…"

"Okay, okay, I get it…stop talking about it and just do it, you big nerd!"

He smiled as he swooped down and captured her mouth with his, holding it there as their lips absorbed. He leaned into her as he continued to gently nip at her lips as his hands moved down her neck, over her shoulders and down her arms.

She shivered at the feel his hands on her bare skin and then let out a soft moan as she gripped handfuls of his awful striped shirt and tugged. She chuckled against his lips when he clumsily stumbled forward, causing her back to slam against the door. She let out a sound of approval as he changed the angle of the kiss and greedily wanted more as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Freddie gripped her hips as he deepened the kiss again and again. Each time he told himself just one more taste, he kept going back for more. He felt her fingers getting lost in his hair while her mouth continued to move urgently under his. He had to stop…at least long enough for both of them to get their breath.

In just a minute.

Boy, oh boy, did her favorite dork know how to kiss. He was so clever with that mouth of his...it was driving her crazy. Her fingers were mussing up that perfectly placed hair of his and she absolutely loved it.

Freddie finally pulled away, both of them breathing heavily with their lips inches apart. "Wow," he murmured.

"I can agree with that statement," Sam breathed as her hands dropped to his shoulders.

His lips curved as he rested his forehead against hers and it absolutely warmed her heart. "Freddie?"

"I need a moment so I can wait for my heart to restart."

"Or I can just stop it again," she suggested as she shifted her lips towards his.

He grinned. "Who needs a heartbeat anyway?" he murmured seconds before their lips touched.

The sound of footsteps outside in the hall eventually pulled them apart, followed by the sound of Mrs. Benson's voice muffling on the other side. "Oh no…my mom," Freddie said as he heard the jangle of her keys.

Sam quickly pushed him back. "Quick, go hide in your room."

"Why?" he exclaimed as he continued to stumble backwards.

"Because you look like you've been doing some serious making out."

He grinned. "I _have _been doing some serious making out."

"Yeah, but your mom is going to think you got attacked or something and freak out."

"Good point," he said. "What about you?"

"I'll think of something…now go."

She shoved him down the hallway leading to his bedroom with a little bit more force than needed, causing him to stumble forward. "Unnecessary!" he whispered harshly over his shoulder before disappearing into his room.

She just snickered before running back into the den and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table as she passed.

Mrs. Benson stopped short and gasped when she all bur ran into her. "Sam! You scared me to death!"

She shrugged. "Sorry," she said before taking a hefty bite of an apple.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was hungry so I raised your kitchen…this is the only thing that I could find that was edible."

She let out a huff. "Don't you usually raid Carly's food instead?"

"I have to give her a break sometime."

"But I locked the door behind me."

She let out a snorted laugh. "Yeah, like that would stop me." She took another bite as she sailed passed her and closed the door behind her.

Sam chuckled to herself as she carelessly tossed the half eaten core into the potted plant in the hallway, before strolling into Carly's apartment.

Carly leapt off the couch and was on her before she barley closed the door. "How did it go? Did you two talk? Did you kiss again? Are you two together now?'

"Whoa, there Carls," she said as she backed into the door. "Breath before you pass out."

"Oh come on, tell us!" Spencer exclaimed as he all of the sudden appeared over Carly's shoulder. "We want to know what happened? Did you kiss again?"

Sam gave him a weird look. "Jeez, Spencer…you're acting like an obsessed Seddie fan or something."

Spencer suddenly straightened. "No I'm not," he murmured as he averted his eyes.

Carly studied him. "Yeah, you kind of are."

Spencer shrugged as he shuffled his feet. "Okay, well…maybe I've been a closet Seddie fan for awhile."

Sam snickered. "You're joking."

"No…you t wo are just so darn cute when you fight."

Carly joined in the laughter as well. "Gee, Spencer…did you write a Seddie fanfiction while you were at it?"

"No! Don't be ridiculous!" he exclaimed but then averted his eyes again. "Um…excuse me, I have to go delete something from the computer."

Carly just shook her head with a laugh and then tugged Sam forward. "C'mon…let's go up in my room and you can tell me about it."

Spencer swiveled away from the computer towards them. "Aww!"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay…let's go on the couch."

"Yay!" Spencer exclaimed as he jumped from the chair and plopped in the chair. "Now…give us the deets!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, here it is! The last chapter! Thanks again for all who supported me and added me to their fave list. It means so much! So much in fact, that I'm hoping to write another one! It wouldn't be a continuation to this one, but a story set when they are a little older. I'm working it out in my head, so look out for it! Thanks again guys and please review! Love hearing what you think!**

**~Magarooski**

**Chapter 9**

2 months later

Freddie strolled into Carly's apartment and smiled when he saw his girlfriend stretched out on the couch watching TV. "Hey, Blondie."

She smiled but kept her eyes on the TV. "Hey, Fredadork."

He walked over and lifted her feet to give him room and then placed them on his lap. "What are you watching?"

"_Friends_…it's the one where they go to London."

"That's a good one…Chandler and Monica finally get together."

"And Ross says Rachel's name at the alter," Sam reminded.

"Oh yeah," Freddie laughs. "I forgot about that."

Sam paused it and turned her full attention to her boyfriend, who was currently doing an excellent job of rubbing her feet. "I didn't even have to ask you."

He just smiled as he kept on kneading the balls of her feet with his thumbs. "Where are the Shay siblings?"

Sam sighed as she closed her eyes. "Spencer's off doing god knows what with Socko and Carly went to the movies with Brad."

"Looks like Barly's still going strong."

She chuckled at the nickname they had given them when Brad and Carly started dating. "Full throttle."

"Well…they're not the only ones."

Sam peaked an eye open when he stopped rubbing and then jerked when he plopped a paper bag on her stomach. "What's this?"

"Just a little something I got you…I figured us surviving two months deserved a little celebration."

"You didn't have to give me anything." She sat up and they both scooted closer to each other, meeting at the middle of the couch. "I don't have anything for you."

"It doesn't matter," he assured her as reached up to toy with her hair. "It's not a big deal, really…just open it."

"All right," she sighed and then opened the bag and peaked inside.

Freddie laughed when her hand darted into the bag like an excited kid on Christmas morning. "You like it?"

She held up the shrink-wrapped package in awe. "Bolivian bacon…this is _Bolivian bacon_!"

He grinned. "That would be an accurate statement, Blondie. I figured since you already love me without the bacon, it would be safe to give it to you. So, do you like it? I mean, I don't know if I got the right kind or…"

Freddie sputtered out a breath when she launched herself at him, the force knocking him back onto the couch. She was stretched out on top of him and before he could barley suck in another breath her very enthusiastic mouth was on his. He happily buried his fingers in her soft hair and enjoyed the ride.

"Wow," he gasped when she finally left his mouth only to now scatter kisses all over his face. "So I'm guessing you like it?"

"I _love _it!" She pressed her lips against his. "Thank you." And again. "Thank you." And again. "Thank you!"

"You're quite welcome," he said absently and brought her down for another kiss.

Sam indulged into the kiss for a moment, playfully nipping at his lips, before finally pulling away. "Let's go make some."

He shook his head. "No, maybe you should thank me some more."

Sam laughed and gave him one more kiss. "Make-out session later…bacon frying now."

He let out an unfortunate sigh when she rolled off of him, but then let her pull him off the couch and drag him into the kitchen. "Okay, get a skillet out…I'll open the package."

Sam did a little bootie dance across the kitchen, before opening the right cabinet and pulled out the largest one she could find. She slapped it happily on the stove and fired it up. "All set."

Freddie held out the first raw strip of bacon. "Would you like to do the honors, Blondie?"

"Don't mind if I do," she said as she took it from him and leaned up on her toes for a kiss. "Thanks."

He nestled up behind her as he watched her carefully set strips of bacon onto the skillet. When they started to sizzle, she sighed happily as she leaned back against him.

"It's the most beautiful sound in the world."

Freddie chuckled as he placed a kiss on top of her head. "You're one in a million, Sam."

She just laughed as she began to turn the bacon over. "Just wait till you taste…I might even be nice and let you take the first bite."

"Wow," he said in complete shock. "It really _must _be love."

"All caps love."

Since this wonderful affectionate side of Sam didn't come out often, he took advantage by circling his arms around her waist and lovingly nuzzled her neck.

"Don't distract the cook," she teased but couldn't help but enjoy the shiver than rushed through her.

"It's hard to keep away when you say things like that."

She smiled and gave a little shrug. "It's just the truth." She then turned around to face him and held out piece of cooling bacon. "Open up, buttercup."

He opened wide and let her feed him a bite and then closed his eyes on a loud moan. "Oh…my…god."

"I told you," she said and then took her first bite. "Oh yeah…that's excellent."

Freddie devoured his first piece and grabbed another. "I could just eat this for the rest of my life."

Sam nodded agreeably. "Oh, definitely," she said between bites and then licked the grease off her fingers. "So freaking good. We need to eat everything I cooked before anyone comes home…I will only share this with you."

"For sure," Freddie agreed as he snagged his third piece. "No one is allowed…maybe the next batch when it comes in."

The piece of bacon that was headed for Sam's mouth paused halfway. "What? What next batch?"

"Oh yeah," he said absently as he polished off the last of his share. "I got you a year supply, you'll receive a package at the beginning of every month and…"

Sam dropped her last piece of bacon, grabbed his face and crushed her lips greedily against his. "A year," she murmured against his lips. "I get Bolivian bacon for a year?"

He grinned. "Yup…and if you keep acting this way…maybe I'll extend it to two years."

"Don't play with mama." She gripped his shirt and shuffled backwards. "Back to the couch, Benson."

"Okay," he said with a cheeky grin as he happily stumbled along and with lips locked they tumbled onto the cushions in a tangle of limbs.

They were still that way when the front door opened twenty minutes later. Carly sighed when he saw her two best friends wrapped around each other. "You two have homes you know."

Brad closed the door behind them and smiled. "It's sweet."

"Yeah, but I was planning on doing that with you on that couch."

His eyes brightened. "Yeah? Well, in that case…break it up Seddie!"

Sam, who was currently draped over Freddie's lap, pulled away on a sigh. "Why can't you two go upstairs?"

"Yeah," Freddie said and then shooed them away. "Run on, Barly."

Carly crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. "Barly is going no where, it's Seddie that needs to go find another couch."

Freddie looked over at Sam. "There's always the fire escape."

She grinned. "Good call."

Carly sniffed the air. "I smell bacon."

"Freddie gave me Bolivian bacon for our two month anniversary," Sam said as she got up from his lap.

Carly's eyes softened. "Awww."

Sam gave the same look as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know…my dork is such a cutie."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…let's go, Blondie. Couch is all yours, Barly."

After they left, Carly plopped down on the couch and pointed at Brad. "You." She then pointed at the spot next to her. "Here."

Brad grinned as he sauntered over. "Yes, mam."

XXXX

Freddie and Sam sat out on the fire escape as they watched yet another sunset together. The extra chair Freddie left out for Sam was unoccupied because she was in his lap instead.

"I don't know why you keep the extra chair out here…I never use it."

"I know," Freddie said as he plopped his chin on her shoulder. "But I like having it out here when I'm alone."

"Why?"

"Because even though you're not with me, it feels like a part of you is. I guess that sounds stupid, but…"

"No," she said softly as she rested her temple against his. "Not stupid at all."

"Can you believe we've lasted this long?"

She chuckled. "No…I would have thought I'd be driving you crazy by now."

"Oh, you do…but in a good way."

"Freddie…about what I said about not getting you something."

"Hey, it's okay," he said as he held her tightly. "I told you, it doesn't matter and…"

"I lied."

Freddie blinked and shifted so he could look at her. "What?"

She grinned. "I lied." She got up from his lap and fished something out of her pocket and held it out. "Happy two months."

Freddie grabbed the tickets she held in her hand…and his jaws dropped. "Oh my god," he whispered as he darted to his feet. "These…these are two tickets to the Galaxy Wars Convention next month."

"That would be correct."

"But…how…I mean…those were sold out in like three seconds, how on _earth _did you get these?"

"I have my ways and _yes _they were legal ways."

"Hey, I don't care either way," he said with a laugh and then swooped in for a hug, lifting her off her feet. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She laughed. "You're welcome, welcome, welcome."

He tilted her head back for a long, deep, satisfying kiss. "You're coming with me, right?"

"Can I make fun of people?"

He grinned. "Of course."

"Then I wouldn't miss it."

He captured her lips once more as he slowly set her on her feet, and then trailed his lips to her cheek and down her jaw line before pulling her into a hug. "I love you, Princess Puckett."

Her heart tumbled over in her chest…just like it did every time he told her he loved her. "I love you, too, nub."


End file.
